Native plants hard to find at nurseries, but worth the search

View full sizeJOHN MCCUSKER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNEThe oakleaf hydrangia is among the native plants in Longue Vue's Wild Garden. NATIVE NOW What: Longue Vue House and Gardens' monthly series on native plants. This installment focuses on the summer rainy season and how native plants can help. Workshop to be led by native plant specialists Susan Norris-Davis and Tyrone Foreman. Seating, first-come, first-served, is limited. When: June 5; presentations are at 8, 9, 10 and 11 a.m. Where: Longue Vue House and Gardens, 7 Bamboo Road Admission: Free Information: Visit www.longuevue.com or call 504.488.5488Though New Orleans homes are known for their lush yards, very few of those fragrant blossoms and boughs of greenery may be native to the area.

Ironically, native plants are hard to come by at local nurseries, says native plant expert Susan Norris-Davis, who has been conducting a monthly series on the topic at Longue Vue House and Gardens. The next installment, focusing on native plants to withstand the summer rainy season, is set for June 5.

"What's available in the nursery trade, very little of that is native to the Deep South of Louisiana," Norris-Davis said.

"People are unaware of what belongs here and what doesn't. We've got a lot of tropicals, and it's so easy to assume that they're local, but when I walk around, I see about 80 percent that aren't local."

LSU AgCenter Associate Agent Russell Harris said he agrees with that assessment, and added that often, the native species that are available -- which commonly include buttonbush, yaupon holly, Louisiana iris, cypress and wax myrtle -- have been cultivated elsewhere.

Native plants often are well-suited to rainwater inundation as well as high heat and drought, making them perfect troupers for the extreme conditions of New Orleans summers.

"In May, June, July, we get an average of 6 inches (of rain) per month," Norris-Davis said. "For us in New Orleans ... a lot of times we might get 2 or 3 inches in a day. We have a high water table, so you need a plant that can tolerate being drenched for several days and then also having to go dry in 90-degree heat for a week or longer."

Mentioning pineland hibiscus as an example, Norris-Davis said: "It's very hardy. It can take lots of rain. It can take heat stress."

JOHN MCCUSKER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNEMamou coral bean is among the native plants in Longue Vue's Wild Garden.Native plants with strong, deep root systems, such as cypress trees, are sturdy and better-equipped to withstand strong storms, Norris-Davis said.

"It is so well-anchored you don't have to worry about it falling on your house," she said, adding that cypress trees also are naturally suited to weathering the low oxygen levels in soil that can develop in prolonged heat.

The Longue Vue lecture comes with a built-in visual aid: the estate's Wild Garden, which is mostly filled with native plants. Currently in bloom are the daisy-like black-eyed susans, Mexican hats, blazing stars, water lilies and phlox.

"In the Wild Garden, you barely even noticed that we had a freeze (this past winter) because nothing really died back," Norris-Davis said.

Aside from the botanical advantages of native plants, simply making an effort to fit in with the local ecosystem can give gardeners a stronger connection to the wild landscapes of south Louisiana, Norris-Davis said.

"I don't tell people that native plants are necessarily easier to grow than other plants, but more interesting," she said. "You may form a connection with your landscape so that when you go out in the country, you'll recognize some of the species and know what's around you."

Though native plants for retail are not in abundance, Harris and Norris-Davis encouraged gardeners to talk to their local nurseries and request them, or call outlets that are familiar with native varieties, such as Mizell Farms in Folsom and Jenkins Nursery and Farm in Amite.

"They're sometimes available on request," Harris said. "You just have to talk with your local nursery."